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When I look for a good character in my book, I look for a character that isn’t selfish, because if you find a character that is clearly just a selfish cares only for them self kind of person even if things are going great for them, they always end up losing in the end in some way shape or form. I look for a character that does what’s best even if others can’t see it and they get in his way or don’t support them, even if they’re not on the main characters side, if they’re doing what’s best for the right cause, that’s a good character.

This story takes place in the U.K. with a boy named Connor who lives with his mum, just the two of them, but not for long. Conor has the same repeating nightmare of Conor holding his mom over a cliff and holding for dear life, but he always has the nightmare after getting eaten alive by the monster that forms out of the yew tree beyond his backyard. Conors mom has been diagnosed with cancer and has been fighting it for quite some time, Conors Grandma often comes over to help his mom and Conor sense his mom can’t. In Conors Nightmare, the monster becomes more real when Conor starts finding Yew tree berries and leaves scattered across his room. He soon starts meeting the monster every day at 12:07, and the monster starts telling Conor stories that don’t mean much to him. But the monster tells Conor that in order for the monster to go away, Conor needs to tell him his truth, this confuses Conor but when he realizes what it is, he can’t bare to tell the monster. Conors dad comes to try to help Conor realize his moms gonna die.

Quote: “Oh.” That was all I could spare for them. I knew I should feel something more for those me, but I didn’t. They had bargained with a wolf, thinking that could save them. But in the end, the wolf always bites.

Context: Shaya just learned that a large portion of the Polish resistance was killed at a counter-attack and can tell the rest of the survivors are super sad, but Shaya isn’t mostly because she didn’t really know any of them but can tell that all the others were. She relates the analogy-making a deal with a wolf but the wolf always bites to the Polish squadron made a bad deal that got them killed.

This makes me think: Even though Shaya didn’t say the analogy out loud, it helps her and the readers realize how stupid and bad the deal or decision was and that it wasn’t smart at all.

Quote: We wished each other good luck before leaving. We said it. But none of us believed in luck anymore.

Context: The Polish and Jewish Resistance (who Shaya is fighting with) are making one big attack run on the squads coming to the ghetto’s for safety from the allies. Many different Nazi squadrons flooded the ghettos many with flamethrowers and heavy duty guns, Shaya had to regroup with what was left of her team after losing many soldiers. Shaya can’t run and she has to limp due to the bullet that went through her leg, she doesn’t tell anyone and hides the pain so they can keep fighting and then wish each other good luck before leaving.

This makes me think: Shaya doesn’t want other’s to know she’s shot, because if they knew they wouldn’t let her keep fighting and Shaya doesn’t want that. I don’t think any of them believe in luck because all of their recent missions have been disasters and never successful.

Quote: “For how long?” Taylor asked. Hatch looked at her with a perplexed gaze.”For the rest of your life.”

Context: Taylor has just been kidnapped by the Elgen and Dr. Hatch is trying to make her feel at home by showing her to all the other youths including Tara her twin sister she had no clue about. Hatch also goes shopping with Taylor and Tara to the Beverly Hills Outlet Mall and spends more than $10,000 at Stores like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, ZARA, H&M, etc. She thought Hatch would be super mad but ended up being frustrated that they didn’t spend more. Hatch then buys Taylor a 25 carat $168,000 diamond necklace as a homecoming gift. They go back to the HQ and taylor asks “For how long?” as in how long she’ll be there and Hatch tells her forever.

This makes me think: Hatch is trying to scare her but at the same time act like he doesn’t know he’s scaring her .

I think dads are always put as bad guys in stories, books, and even movies. I could list off 1,000,000 movies where the dad is an evil genius, main bad guy, assistant bad guy, works for the bad guy, is a spy for the bad guy, etc, or is dead. there needs to be more stories, books, and movies where the dad isn’t evil or the bad guy. Little kids don’t and shouldn’t see their dads as ‘bad guys’. They should be hero’s and working for good not bad. Stories, books and movies are defacing dads and who they should be seen as in a way.

In their words: the chief religious official of a synagogue, trained usually in a theological seminary and duly ordained, who delivers thesermon at a religious service and performs ritualistic, pastoral, educational, and other functions in and related to his or her capacity as a spiritual leader of Judaism and the Jewish community.

In my words: A rabbi is a jewish leader who prosides meetings and church related gatherings.

Quote: Of course, I was almost never expected to return from any mission, and so far, I always had. Maybe there was only a little hope, but any hope at all was more than I ever dared ask for.

Context: Shaya is still recovering from the Cygneria cafe attack and and is only doing very small missions into the ghetto’s like smuggling blankets, shoes and medicine into the ghetto. She has just been told that her family doesn’t want her to smuggle and be part of the resistance. So she lies and secretly continues working and thinks that quote when asked to do a particularly challenge that’s hard on her recovering body.

This makes me think: That Shaya is trying to be humble and be glad with the hope that she has, she uses the hope to her advantage unlike her dad who she relates to a man who is willing to drown because he was pushed in the water.

What I read: Michael Vey: The Prisoner Of Cell 25, by Richard Paul Evans, science fiction, 326 pages, 4.5 out of 5

How it starts: Michael Vey is a regular teenage boy attending Meridian High school in Idaho, he lives with his mom in an apartment building just a few blocks from the school. Michael is like everyone else, he attends the same classes, the same lunch time, the same assemblies, and is bullied by Jack, Wade, and Mitchell just like everyone else. But the one thing that makes Michael different, very very different, is that Michael is electric. Not electric like you and me, he’s probably 100 times more electric, because he’s electric in his own special.

How it gets complicated: Michael has always been moving from place to place, state to state, because he would somehow or another for whatever reason use his powers, or as Michael calls it, pulsing. Then rumors would fly and police would want to talk to him in case he touched a live wire or something. Taylor Ridley is the prettiest girl at Meridian High according to just about every boy at the school. But besides being popular and head of the cheer squad, Taylor is different to, she is also electric. She see’s Michael pulse Jack and his posse after trying to pants him behind the school, and she’s adopted so she’s never told anyone about it, and is super excited to tell Michael. Taylor can read minds while touching someone and ‘reboot’ people, which is kind of like giving someone a brain fart. Ostin Liss, Michael’s brainiac friend lives in the apartment next to Michael, does research on the Elgen, a billion dollar company that made Michael and Taylor the way they are. Taylor and Michael’s mom are kidnapped by the Elgen to lure Michael into a trap. So Michael, Jack, Wade, and Ostin travel to Pasedena to get them. Michael is then captured and tested to become one of them, when he denies they lock him up for weeks until they let him out and figure out that their are a dozen more electric children with different powers. After Michael escapes his cell with 5 other electric children he need’s to try to make it through 50+ guards, 7 electric children, and levels of traps and prisoners. Will he make it and find his Mother?

What I liked: I just overall loved the way he wrote and how his story was different and unique.

What I disliked: There wasn’t a whole lot to dislike, but Michael would suddenly get more powerful faster which kind of makes him overpowering.